Ontario County native Patty Scoville was brutally raped and murdered in 1991, shortly after the Cornell University graduate moved to Stowe, Vt. Her parents, residents of Canandaigua, waited 14 years for a suspect to be caught and prosecuted. Their wait is over, and they finally are able to gain some closure on the tragic death of their young daughter.
DNA helped provide a break and arrest in the Scoville case. The alleged killer, Howard Godfrey of Kirby, Vt., was jailed in 1997 in that state on charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder of another woman. Results of a sample of Godfrey's DNA were entered into Vermont's DNA database at that time, and five years later - during a random check in the National DNA Database - a match was made to DNA collected from the Scoville crime scene.
The DNA provides evidence that led to the arrest of Godfrey for the rape and murder of Patty Scoville, a young woman who still had so much more to give to the world. Patty had just left behind a corporate career to start a new phase of her life as a ski instructor in Stowe.
Without the DNA evidence, I doubt Godfrey would have ever been caught nor prosecuted.
I've introduced a bill in the New York state Assembly that, if passed into law, would expand the definition of a "designated offender" - a person required to provide their DNA for testing and inclusion on the New York DNA Identification Index. The expanded definition of offenders would include all persons sentenced or adjudicated a youthful offender for any class of misdemeanor or felony defined in the Penal Law. It also would create a Class E felony for designated offenders who fail to provide their DNA samples.
A DNA database proved instrumental in solving Patty Scoville's murder. My legislation could help solve hundreds, if not thousands, more cases in New York and beyond.
This legislation also calls for elimination of the statute of limitations for prosecution of Class B violent felony sex offenses, and extends the statute of limitations for certain sex crimes committed against children. There is currently a five-year statute of limitations on the prosecution of violent sexual offenses. Criminals who admit to committing these kinds of heinous crimes are not prosecuted if their statements are made five years after the crimes were committed. This certainly must be corrected.
The ability to collect and analyze DNA has forever altered the investigation and prosecution processes in New York, the United States and the entire world. It's imperative that this bill passes for the safety and protection of New Yorkers. I'll advocate for this bill until it becomes law, and I encourage my constituents to do the same. It's time to help people like Patty Scoville's parents find healing and justice from crimes that go unsolved.
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KOLB VISITS WITH FARM BUREAU
Assemblyman Brian Kolb meets with members of the Finger Lakes Farm Bureau recently in Albany. From left to right: Kolb, Ken Michaelis, Jonathon Gilbert, Slade & Kristin Cox, and Farm Bureau Field Advisor Skip Jensen.
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